Articles by: jennykrashin

Lesbian, gay, bisexual give Mason 7.5 rating where as transsexual give 4.5 On Jan. 29, President Angel Cabrera tweeted that satisfaction ratings for the LGBT community on campus was 7.5 for “LGB” and 4.5 for “T”. Cabrera was able to glean this rating from his visit to the Office of LGBTQ Resources, where he asked students to give Mason a generalized rating out of 10 based on their satisfaction with its LGBTQ policies and their overall experience with their fellow students and faculty. For lesbian, gay and bisexual students, the rating was relatively high. According to the Campus Climate Index, a national listing of LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities, George Mason University scored a 4/5 based on elements such as LGBT academic life, student life, campus safety and counseling and health. Two areas in which Mason scored poorly were LGBT policy inclusion and housing and residence life. Ric Chollar, Associate Director of the Office of LGBTQ Resources, says the problem starts higher up. “Being in the state of Virginia, and being a public institution, the restrictions on LGBTQ folks in Virginia apply to us as well.” According to Chollar, there is currently no protection for transgender and gender variant students and faculty […]

National employers will look for potential candidates All Mason students and alumni will have the chance to network with dozens of employers, thanks to the upcoming career fair hosted by University Career Services. The fair will be held on Feb. 20 and 21 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. in Dewberry Hall of the Johnson Center. A wide variety of local, national and international employers—from AOL to The Institute of World Politics—will comprise the 180 employers in attendance at the fair. There are not going to be employers from just one particular sector; all majors from all schools are welcome to attend. There will, however, be certain employers that students may be particularly interested in. Career Fair Manager Bernadette Davey highlighted several companies from different fields that may be appealing to students. ISOM Global Strategies is a company that provides full-service marketing, communication and management services for government, corporate and commercial clients. Internships and part-time openings are available for anyone interested in event planning, graphic design, web development, project management or communication. For information technology or engineering students, Palantir Technologies has a variety of positions available. The company was named one of the Top 50 Most Innovative Companies in 2012 and […]

Nearly 200 people showed up at Southside on Feb. 17 wearing giant penis costumes, banana costumes, gorilla suits and one guy was even wearing a floppy, rubber horse mask. The list of outrageous and quirky costumes goes on and on, but why are these Mason students running around campus in bright spandex, neon bathing suits and panda costumes? Many have heard of “The Harlem Shake,” a YouTube sensation gone viral, and remakes and parodies of the video are now popping up. So of course Mason students Ryan Glass and Vince Gomes decided to bring “The Harlem Shake” home to Mason. “The videos are going viral, so why not take advantage of the opportunity to make a video like this?” said Ryan Glass, the producer and director of the video. The video was shot at four locations on campus – outside Southside, on the spiral staircase of the JC, the George Mason statue and a Lecture Hall classroom. And as many could imagine, filming the remake was an unexpected treat for Mason’s students and visitors. Mason student Orshi Buzas was watching the video being filmed outside Southside. “Oh yeah, I definitely think this will go viral – all the [Harlem Shake] […]

Building bridges across cultural and linguistic barriers is a complex and delicate task, yet it yields many worthwhile rewards. George Mason University Hillel, the center for Jewish life on Mason’s campus, attempted to do just that last Friday night during their weekly Shabbat dinner at the Hub, in which they invited the Federal Republic of Germany’s Embassy along with a few young German professionals to promote German-Jewish dialogue. Hillel director Ross Diamond was aware that it was much easier for people to relate to others with a similar background and language as them, so he actively encouraged the various attendees to get to know each other. “We’re all humans here,” Diamond said. “We all want to sit with people who we can speak the same language with or who look a little like us, but I’d like it if everyone took the intentionality to sit with people who they may have a keen interest in finding out their story.” The evening began with an opportunity for the students to introduce themselves to each other, followed by a Shabbat service, which involved the singing of traditional Hebrew prayers, led by Mason students Marissa Arager and Erez Cramer. “Shabbat is just […]

Men’s basketball team might be going stagnant at a crucial time late in the season. Q: One big thing Mason fans are unsure of is the identity of their point guard, who is it? A: Well right now it’s Corey Edwards. I think putting Bryon Allen into our lineup as a secondary point guard or on the wing has allowed him to play a little more freely. Q: Is that the offense you drew up from the beginning? A: We came into the year thinking our post players would be the center of our offense, and early in the year they were having trouble finishing. We had to change things: post up our perimeter players more inside, make some shots and go to the line. Sherrod, Anali, Jonathan, Bryon. Particularly Sherrod is getting fouled a lot and he brings us some easy baskets. Q: You mentioned Jonathan Arledge. You originally put him in to replace Johnny Williams in the starting lineup due to his concussion. Is he making his way back to that starting spot? A: It is taking longer than we thought to get him back, our training staff says this sort of thing is common with a […]

Forget “(500) Days of Summer” and “Little Miss Sunshine.” Mason may be more interested in independent film “The Long-Term Side Effect,” which was produced and directed by a Mason alumna and features a number of Mason students and faculty, as well as actors in the D.C. area. The Mason students and faculty working on the movie make up a good percentage of the cast and production crew, with 10 alumni, one current student, one professor and one staff member. This is fitting because Dannie Snyder – the producer, director, writer, music composer, and one of the cinematographers and audio mixers for the film – is a Mason graduate of 2010, who studied Theatre Studies, Film and Video Studies and music. “During my senior year, I directed a studio theater production with the Mason Players called Fuddy Meers, where I met Kathleen Mason who was playing the lead role,” Synder said. “I promised to one day write a film for her, which resulted in ‘The Long-Term Side Effect,’ her debut for the screen.” And so the indie film was born. “The Long- Term Side Effect” was originally going to be a series of five different short films filmed within four […]

Passion for basketball fuels alumni love Joe Shannon proposed to his girlfriend Ellen Face during the eight minute media time out at the Feb. 9 men’s basketball game against Delaware. Though Shannon completely surprised Face, he was more than confident he would not be turned down. The couple met through mutual friends 10 years ago as undergrads. They reunited two and a half years ago and began dating, sharing a mutual love for the Mason men’s basketball team. The couple travels to see the team play in conference tournaments each year in Richmond with their mutual friends.

Junior Alex Budnick utilizes the fresh snow by visiting Liberty Mountain in southern Pennsylvania. Unseasonably warm weather put a strain on local ski resorts earlier in the season, but the recent cold weather and snow has allowed area snowboarders and skiers to visit the mountains.